This application seeks funds to purchase a JEOL JEM 1400 electron microscope to serve as the sole EM available for research in a Core Facility at Weill Cornell Medical College and the Hospital for Special Surgery. The Analytical Microscopy Laboratory (AML), located at the Hospital for Special Surgery, has agreed to join with Electron Microscopy &Histology Core Facility at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) to share the costs of operating and maintaining the transmission electron microscopy services for both institutions. The two institutions are immediately adjacent to each other and share several core facilities. Sharing the use of a modern electron microscope will enhance the research capabilities at both institutions, and it will provide increased access to expert technical assistance. The participants in this application have projects that address topics with applications to translational medicine including: receptor trafficking within cells;neural development and plasticity;angiogenesis;cell differentiation, and musculoskeletal metabolism and repair. The success of this joint venture is dependent on the quality of the equipment. The requested microscope, the JEOL JEM 1400 is a state of the art 120 kV electron microscope with added advantage that it is possible to upgrade the instrument to include advanced feature modules such as tomography and cryo in the field for relatively modest costs. This will enable the joint facilities to continue to meet the needs of the research faculties at both WCMC and HSS in future years without needing to invest in another large full-scale instrument.